January 2019 - Vegas and Winter

February 06, 2019

Hendrik passed his driver's exam already in the beginning of December, but as he was going to spend the Christmas holiday in Belgium and as our insurance premium would skyrocket the moment he picks up his licence, we decided to wait until he returned from Belgium to pick it up.
But once he got back, there was no way to wriggle out. So now our 16 year old son is driving all by himself to school. 😱

Hendrik leaving for the first time, all by himself, to school

Suddenly, we have become the passengers!

Cool teenagers in the front ...

... scared parents in the back

We started 2019 off with a drink on the 5th of January @ our place for the whole international community. It has become kind of a tradition to do this around the 6th and introduce them to our Belgian '3-koningen' (3 Kings or Epiphany) tradition ... the cake, not the singing!! Only Belgian beers are served that night ...reason enough to avoid the singing part 🙉! 🍻
Another tradition we have with the international community is to go bowling at least once a year with the whole family. I organise plenty of activities each month for the spouses, but that's always without the partners and kids, so once in a while I try to organise something for the whole family ... and bowling is always a success!

Each year we have to head out to Vegas in January for a soccer tournament with Hendrik's team. So while we're in the middle of the winter in Utah, we can escape for a weekend to spring.
It's about a 6 hour drive for us, which sounds long, but driving here in the West is just a pleasure. The roads aren't as crowded as in Belgium and the views are just awesome:

We entered Las Vegas with a blue sky and promising temperatures. 😎

Unlike the other times we were in Vegas (check Las Vegas - January 2017), we didn't go to the strip this time as our hotel wasn't located that close to it as the other years, ànd we're not a real big fan of it anyway. I mean, it's something you definitely need to see, but it's not something that we want to keep on re-visiting.

So besides the soccer games, ...

Maybe he should consider playing basketball too?

Even in Nevada it's soccer with a view

... we only went to old Downtown, which has this funky atmosphere about it.

Colourful Downton Vegas

Fremont Street is like the beating heart of old Downton and you definitely need to go there in the evening for their light show (check Las Vegas - January 2017), but even during the day it's worthwile, even if it's just to do some people-watching.

But old Downtown is more than just the Fremont experience. It's a fun neighbourhood with some great bars and restaurants ('Eat.' and 'Carson Kitchen' are just 2 we did and loved!), and the location of a unique outdoor mall which is built from re-purposed shipping containers, hence its name 'Container Park'. It houses little unique boutiques, restaurants and bars. It has a play-ground in the middle, so it's a family-friendly place too ... that is until 9PM. After 9PM, it becomes a 21+ area ... even the playground 😏. There's often live music, a DJ spinning, and more to make it an entertaining & fun place.

Inside the container park

Whenever we go to Vegas, Geert goes on a La Chouffe hunt! It's his favourite Belgian beer, and nowhere to be found in Utah. To tell you how big of a La Chouffe lover he is, this is what he got for his birthday from the Belgian team here in Utah last year: